From November 3–6, 2025, Abu Dhabi will once again bring together global industry leaders for ADIPEC 2025, one of the world’s foremost energy platforms advancing dialogue and collaboration toward a sustainable future. With global hydrogen demand expected to exceed 400 million tonnes by 2050, the focus now turns to building a practical, scalable, and investable hydrogen supply chain.

As an official media supporter of ADIPEC 2025, T&B Petroleum had the privilege of conducting an exclusive interview with Dr. Maurits van Tol, Chief Executive of Catalyst Technologies at Johnson Matthey (JM). Dr. van Tol will join the Executive Leadership Panel to discuss two critical aspects of the hydrogen value chain: producing low-carbon hydrogen at scale and ensuring its efficient delivery to global markets.

Johnson Matthey’s advanced LCH™ and ADEPT™ technologies are essential enablers for the large-scale production, conversion, and transport of hydrogen and ammonia. These innovations reinforce the company’s commitment to helping industries decarbonize and accelerate the global transition toward net zero.

In this exclusive interview, Dr. Maurits van Tol (photo) shares Johnson Matthey’s strategic perspective on the evolving hydrogen landscape, the role of innovation in addressing global energy challenges, and the company’s mission to drive sustainable transformation through technology and collaboration.

1. Hydrogen at Global Scale

With global hydrogen demand forecast to exceed 400 million tonnes by 2050, what do you see as the main technical and commercial barriers to establishing a truly global, investable hydrogen supply chain?

Meeting the forecast demand for hydrogen will depend on overcoming several interconnected challenges, including scaling production, developing infrastructure, ensuring market stability and creating long-term policy frameworks that attract investment.

Both low-carbon and renewable hydrogen will be essential to the energy transition. Low-carbon hydrogen, produced from natural gas with carbon capture, utilisation and storage, offers the most immediate and scalable route today. It enables industry to reduce emissions using proven technology and existing infrastructure, while renewable hydrogen will expand as renewable power generation grows and costs fall. Johnson Matthey’s LCH™ technology shows how hydrogen can be delivered at scale with very high carbon capture efficiency, lower energy use and strong commercial performance.

Infrastructure is also crucial. Unlike natural gas or oil, hydrogen does not yet have an established global transport or storage network. Developing pipelines, storage capacity and distribution systems will take significant investment and time, although repurposing existing gas infrastructure offers a valuable starting point. To create a truly global market, consistent standards for safety, purity and carbon intensity are needed, supported by certification and traceability schemes that build trust in hydrogen’s low-carbon credentials.

From a commercial standpoint, the hydrogen market is still maturing. Many projects have been announced, but few have reached final investment decision due to uncertainty around policy, pricing and demand. Mechanisms such as long-term contracts, carbon pricing and government-backed incentives will be key to building investor confidence. Collaboration between technology providers, industry partners and financiers will also help to reduce risk and accelerate progress.

Hydrogen’s potential to decarbonise energy and industry is enormous. Achieving it will require a balanced approach that brings both blue and green hydrogen forward together, supported by technology, investment confidence and consistent policy.

2. Blue Hydrogen and Carbon Capture

Johnson Matthey's LCH™ technology captures up to 99% of CO₂ emissions from hydrogen production. What makes this approach stand out compared to other blue hydrogen solutions currently under development?

Johnson Matthey’s LCH technology stands out for its ability to deliver high-purity, low-carbon hydrogen efficiently and at scale. Unlike conventional steam methane reforming, it is based on autothermal reforming (ATR) technology that either offers a stand-alone ATR flowsheet or it combines an ATR with a gas heated reformer (GHR), optimising heat recovery and energy balance. This design reduces fuel and oxygen use, resulting in lower natural gas consumption, lower carbon intensity, smaller air separation units and a more compact plant footprint.

Operating at high temperatures, the process minimises methane slip and produces a concentrated, high-pressure CO₂ stream, which is easier and more cost-effective to capture. This allows up to 99 per cent carbon capture and to comply with even most stringent low carbon hydrogen carbon intensity standards like we have in the UK.

LCH technology also provides economic advantages through improved energy efficiency and lower CO₂ removal duty, reducing both capital and operating expenditure. The result is a lower levelised cost of hydrogen and a practical, commercially attractive route to large-scale, low-carbon hydrogen production using proven equipment and supply chains.

3. Strategic Partnership with thyssenkrupp Uhde

In May 2024, Johnson Matthey announced a partnership with thyssenkrupp Uhde to integrate LCH™ technology with the uhde® ammonia synthesis loop. How does this collaboration strengthen the global competitiveness and scalability of blue ammonia projects?

The partnership between Johnson Matthey and thyssenkrupp Uhde combines two world-leading process technologies to create an efficient and commercially ready route to low-carbon ammonia at scale. The JM-uhde decarbonised ammonia process delivers a complete, end-to-end solution that maximises performance while reducing risk.

Alongside the high-performing LCH technology, the uhde® ammonia synthesis loop uses advanced KATALCO™ catalysts to deliver high conversion efficiency, long operating cycles and reduced energy consumption. The combined design “JM-uhde® decarbonised ammonia process”  eliminates flue gas handling, reduces air separation unit size and can create efficiency benefits worth $100 millions over the life of a typical plant¹

4. Cracking Ammonia Back to Hydrogen

JM's ADEPT™ technology enables efficient hydrogen recovery from ammonia at the point of use. How does this innovation improve the overall efficiency, cost, and sustainability of hydrogen delivery compared to conventional methods?

ADEPT™ technology represents a major step forward in hydrogen delivery. Instead of transporting hydrogen in its gaseous form, which is costly, energy intensive and requires infrastructure development, ADEPT technology enables efficient hydrogen recovery directly from ammonia at the point of use.

Conventional ammonia crackers typically operate at very high temperatures and have slow reaction rates, leading to high energy consumption. ADEPT technology combines advanced catalyst and reactor design to achieve higher conversion efficiency at lower temperatures, with faster start-up, improved hydrogen yield and competitive ammonia consumption guarantee.

5. Hydrogen Imports

For regions like Europe, Japan, and Korea—where domestic green hydrogen production is limited—how can Johnson Matthey's LCH™ technology and ADEPT™ technology help establish reliable, low-carbon hydrogen import routes?

Transporting low-carbon hydrogen supports countries that do not have the local resources to produce it and using ammonia as a carrier offers a great solution. Johnson Matthey’s LCH technology provides an efficient, proven solution for low-carbon hydrogen production. When combined with the uhde ammonia synthesis loop from thyssenkrupp Uhde, this hydrogen can be converted into low-carbon ammonia for safe, cost-effective transport using existing global infrastructure. Producing blue ammonia in regions with abundant, low-cost natural gas, such as the Middle East or the US Gulf Coast, creates an export-ready energy carrier for import-dependent markets.

At the destination, ADEPT technology provides an efficient way to recover hydrogen from ammonia at ports and industrial hubs, facilitating low-carbon hydrogen import to countries that do not have the local resources to produce it. 

6. Catalyst Innovation as an Enabler

Johnson Matthey has a long heritage in catalysis. How is your team applying this expertise to enhance performance, reduce emissions, and enable large-scale hydrogen and ammonia operations?

Catalysis has been central to Johnson Matthey’s work for more than two centuries, and that experience continues to shape how we develop technologies for hydrogen and ammonia production today. Our deep understanding of reaction chemistry, materials science and process design allows us to create cleaner, more efficient systems ready for industrial scale.

Through continuous catalyst innovation and process optimisation, we are helping industries to reduce emissions, enhance efficiency and accelerate the move towards large-scale, sustainable hydrogen and ammonia production.

7. Aligning Technology, Policy, and Investment

Beyond technological innovation, what kind of policy frameworks and investment models are needed to make global hydrogen trade commercially viable and sustainable?

The technology to produce low carbon hydrogen at scale is ready and proven today. However, this technology must be matched by strong policy and investment support. Clear, consistent frameworks are vital to define what qualifies as low-carbon hydrogen, how carbon intensity is measured and how cross-border trade will be certified. International alignment will create the trust and transparency needed for a global hydrogen market.

Financial mechanisms such as contracts for difference, production tax credits and carbon pricing are essential to bridge the cost gap between production of clean hydrogen and conventional hydrogen. Investors need policy stability, long-term revenue mechanisms and long-term visibility to commit capital. These tools have already proven effective in scaling renewable energy and can do the same for hydrogen.

Public-private partnerships will also be crucial. Shared investment can accelerate infrastructure deployment, including hydrogen hubs, pipelines and storage. Policymakers should recognise hydrogen’s wider value to the energy system in providing flexibility, security and industrial decarbonisation, and design incentives that reward those benefits.

With aligned standards, stable regulation and supportive financing models, hydrogen can move from a promising technology to a globally traded, commercially sustainable energy solution.

8. Outlook for ADIPEC 2025

As you prepare to take part in the Executive Leadership Panel at ADIPEC 2025, what key message would you like stakeholders to take away about hydrogen's role in achieving a decarbonised global energy system?

The key message is that hydrogen is not a distant concept but a vital part of decarbonisation happening today. To reach net zero, we must accelerate both low-carbon and renewable hydrogen in parallel. Low-carbon hydrogen can deliver large-scale, affordable decarbonisation now, while renewable hydrogen will expand as renewable power grows. Together, they form the foundation of a cleaner, more secure and flexible global energy system. Collaboration between industry, governments and investors will be essential to scale these solutions rapidly and cost-effectively.